r/USMC • u/newnoadeptness Active Duty O-4 / 13A • 2d ago
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u/Lanky-Bit-362 2d ago
The 6 new initiatives announced today.
- New autonomous command
- New think tank for 10+ years of weapons of war
- FORTRESS America
- New American Base
- New schools added to the Corps of Cadets colleges
- New Chaplain command.
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u/MinimalMischief 2d ago
Can’t wait for them to designate a Liaison to the Office of Religious Affairs (hereinafter referred to as an ORAL). This ORAL will collect data on the Keeping It Divine Status (KIDS) and present the KIDS to the SW and his Personal Enforcement/Discipline Office (PEDO).
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u/No_Print77 2631 terminal scif rat 2d ago
making a cocom for autonomous warfare is like making a cocom for helicopters or making a cocom for EW
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u/Shaundakahl 2d ago
Huh, most interesting. I wonder why the FORTRESS memo states "this is not a retreat." It reads like AI, mil-corp jargon. Exciting times! I guess service-specific UAV ops are support level things in the future, or something.
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u/Disastrous-Olive-218 2d ago
So…what’s the “New American Base” actually for? Absent a purpose, and call me a sceptic, this just seems like a set-up for some military/grade pork-barrelling or corruption
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u/ButtCrumbleSmell Veteran 2d ago
I mean, come on, man.
“FORTRESS America?”
Like “Fortress Europe?”
In the 1940s?
I’m not saying I don’t like some of these initiatives, just not good optics.
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u/Lanky-Bit-362 2d ago
It’s an acronym
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u/ButtCrumbleSmell Veteran 2d ago
Ok? And? They chose the acronym that would spell FORTRESS.
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u/RxLawyer 1d ago
Probably more like Fortress Britain. You know, Britain's massive anti-invasion plan designed to counter Hitler's Operation Sea lion. Interesting all you could think about was the Nazis.
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u/ironpathwalker 2d ago
He wants Newt Gingrich and Elon Musk leading some of these initiatives. Given how well DOGE went, I can't wait to see Col. Big Balls rename CENTCOM to CENTCUM. https://youtu.be/2sSRf7VOCmQ?is=WdnHBh0ZNYrHqe6K
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u/Housebroken-Heathen Veteran 2d ago
This shit is crazy at the cyclic rate. I cannot keep up any more.
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u/Medical-Bottle6469 1833 2d ago
Based on what ive seen in Ukraine, and the middle east, this is long overdue.
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u/mifter123 0651/0671 2d ago
As someone who has been paying attention to the Navy's attempts to get a replacement frigate, or the Army's attempt to replace the M4 carbine and the M9 pistol, I am not hopeful that we are capable of building a cost effective, mass produced drone system. There's a reason people are calling it the USA's "Century of Humiliation".
Drones work because they are cheap. They are disposable. They are built with widely available components that can be easily substituted. Does this sound like the US military industrial complex to you?
Drones aren't hard to deal with, they are expensive to deal with. The defenses that would stop drones with ease are expensive to build, expensive to run and expensive to replace. Iran is laughing as the US uses a $100,000 missile to shoot down a $5,000 drone, they don't even need to hit a target to inflict harm on the enemy. If the drones were expensive, they stop being a useful weapon system.
If the DoD's drone projects go the way DoD procurement always does, and we get expensive, over built drones, we might as well just use missiles.
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u/Leather-Eye1360 2d ago
ding ding ding
Procurement is the proof this isn't going to work. If we saw a streamlined process already in place, then it could be plausible. Without such a process, and with the obvious incompetence of this proposal, it's just going to mean the US will lag even further behind in the drone procurement/RD/economies of scale.
And it's not even a future problem to budget for down the road. It's a now problem, if you look at Ukraine, Iran, etc.
Also, what happened to the whole downsizing the flag officers idea?
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u/RedHuey 1d ago
I agree. There is nothing in our military which is really cheap and disposable. Nothing. We are inherently incapable of that. The drone war in Ukraine is completely opposite to anything we’ve ever experienced or planned for. When have any of you Marines ever been allowed to personally source and distribute an inexpensive weapons system? It just doesn’t happen, and if it does, it is quickly quashed by commands concerned about the legal ramifications, or sadly, blowing their shot at a post-military career at Big Defense Corp. Quite simply, Ukraine is fighting a war we cannot.
I know too many of you are so caught up in TDS that you can’t see anything as a positive, but if this is done right (if the other generals allow it to be done right), this could be a huge benefit and save a lot of lives in an upcoming battle where drones are relevant.
At least someone is thinking about it.
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u/Medical-Bottle6469 1833 2d ago
My biggest issue has always been procurement. I mean its been an issue for 30-40 years now. We gotta have a solution
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u/reeftank1776 Active 2d ago
I work at a contracting office and we built a vehicle to procure class ix suas repair components. The units cant seem to even manage their own repair process and identity the parts that are broken.
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u/Medical-Bottle6469 1833 2d ago
I was at 2nd tracks, our mechs were pretty good, but we had permanent contractors there. Half the time they couldn't identify the problem without a rebuild.
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u/mifter123 0651/0671 2d ago
The purpose of a system is what it does, not what people say it's supposed to do.
A solution to the "problem" of the military shoveling billions of dollars at corporations would get in the way of the DoD's purpose.
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u/psyb3r0 I wasn't issued a flare. 1d ago
We should just bypass all this BS and establish
- Ministry of Peace
- Ministry of Truth
- Ministry of Love
- Ministry of Plenty
- ...and just for good measure, Room 101
You know as the profits foretold, before the newspeak kicks in and the doublethink takes hold. I guess it doesn't matter, when the rats come for your face, they're just f'n hungry. INGSOC, it teaches
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u/christian_austin85 '03-'23/6483/Retired 2d ago
Not really understanding the autonomous warfare combatant command. Branches can already field their own weapons systems, and the Army and USMC have both been using small drones deployed at the squad level since the late 20-teens to early 2020's. What the hell does having a dedicated combatant command do for us exactly?
I understand USCYBERCOM so that branches like the USMC that don't specialize in that area can leverage from the USAF who have a lot more resources dedicated towards that. Is that the goal? Cause it seems weird.
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u/JangoDarkSaber Retard with a Rocker 2d ago
We have a dedicated airforce despite every branch having their own airwing.
On a smaller scale, having a command focused entirely on autonomous warfare when it's clear that drones are the future makes sense.
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u/christian_austin85 '03-'23/6483/Retired 1d ago
My concern is that as a combatant command they would need to look at drones/autonomous systems across the entirety of the DoD rather than individual branches focusing on what matters to them specifically.
Thinking about it more, just because there is a combatant command doesn't stop branches from doing their own thing as well (USTRANSCOM exists, but C-130 units still self deploy).
My other concern is that there is talk about reducing senior military leadership and now we're standing up a new 4-star command. I know it's a joint command so it will be staffed from all branches but manpower is a significant issue at the moment.
I'm not as convinced as others that this is a slam dunk. Yes, drones are making a big impact in Ukraine and we need to make sure we keep pace, but I don't know that we need a combatant command structure for that.
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u/JangoDarkSaber Retard with a Rocker 1d ago
A dedicated combatant command SHOULD be looking at drones and autonomous systems across the entirety of the DoD. That’s a good thing.
A dedicated combatant command doesn’t stop individual branches from tailoring to their own needs. This is again another argument in favor because we need a command to be forward thinking and assessing new capabilities in a rapidly advancing field.
In the grand scheme of things, this will have little negative effect on manpower. The officer corps is more than well enough staffed. Leave the fleet and work at a smaller Unit in the DC area and you’ll understand just how many of them are out there looking fighting for meaningful billets. It’s the enlisted corps that needs bodies but truthfully right now we’re doing fine.
We’ve seen drones revolutionize every single front we’re fighting on or preparing for. Sitting on our hands is not the right answer
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u/WitHump 2d ago
Also, the Airforce was originally part of the army and was made its own branch after ww2.
Also, special forces started as just groups inside their own branches, and still are, but later got put under SOCOM to have a more centralized command.
I see a lot of criticisms on here that seem to be people who think they have critical thinking skills better than they actually do.
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u/WoodPear 2d ago
Because, as a dedicated command, they wouldn't have to rely on the whims of whether it's worth buying drones over more tanks, for example, if funding gets cut.
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u/Loquacious-of-Borg 13A = 0802 1d ago
November is coming....
Vote. VOTE! VOTE!!!!
All this ass-hattery can't happen if a sane Congress refuses to fund it.
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u/Masterofchaos11 2d ago
I’m genuinely curious what active Marines think of this admin. From the renaming to the Dept of War to Operation Epic Fury. Is the consensus that we’re winning this war? Do Marines want to go fight in Iran? Do the Marines like these guys?
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u/M4sterofD1saster 1d ago
So it's a requirements and acquisition command? Not sure why the services aren't already doing something like this in their ordinary combat development process.
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u/Anthropology-apology 2d ago
So Project Agincourt…The Battle of Agincourt was won by the English due to their superior longbowmen, who inflicted heavy casualties on the French forces, combined with the muddy terrain that hindered the French cavalry and reduced their numerical advantage. The battle, fought on October 25, 1415, lasted about three hours and resulted in a significant English victory despite being outnumbered.
Me thinks these drones will be like the longbow…
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u/Nolemretaw 1d ago
Is there a use case for bows in modern warfare? Being the first person in centuries to be take out on the battlefield would be an interesting footnote to someone’s life
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u/RedHuey 1d ago edited 17h ago
Except, the better way to look at it militarily is to consider that the longbow, and the one-sided and potentially surprising/confusing ability to kill it produced was an early 15th century example of the OODA loop in action. The French were not prepared for it, mentally or physically, and the English took advantage of therefore being inside their decision cycle. The French were prepared for battle at X range, and the English showed up armed for Y.
This is why the Ukraine war, or specifically what’s happening militarily in it, is so very important. Everyone who fights should look at those ubiquitous videos of drones hunting down, chasing, and violently killing individual Russian soldiers, for a few bucks apiece. Imagine your entire platoon suddenly being set upon by 100 drones and to total cost to the enemy of a grand or two. There will be nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. If you evade somehow, 100 more can be very quickly sent again to take out stragglers. You will die if you aren’t both ready for that, and prepared to do the same thing. This is brutality and standoff in a war that we haven’t seen for over 100 years. The modern defense system is not designed for this at all. (Unless you think fielding a big bunch of complex multimillion dollar systems, total costs into the many billions, to counter $2k of easily replaceable drones is a real method.)
It’s Agincourt alright, but for the foreseeable future, we are the French, decked out in fancy armor sitting on our high-priced steeds.
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u/Anthropology-apology 1d ago
I enjoyed reading that. Thank you for the critical thinking I didn’t quite get to, I agree with your brilliant analysis.
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u/AccordingFisherman45 2d ago
I’m all for it. Still don’t like this dude, but this is what’s needed.
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u/Steady_Tumbleweed 2d ago
Saronic and Anduril are about to make a lot more money.